A Change, Pleasing God

I've decided to change the name of my blog, and will be keeping this title permanently. Although I really liked , 1 Corinthians 10:31, after meditating on 2 Corinthians 5:9 this past week, it has made an even greater impact on me, so I changed the title.

This morning as I was meditating on that verse in 2 Corinthians 5: 9, I began asking myself what does it mean to be pleasing to Him? Am I to please Him when I feel like it, or when I want to? Am I to please Him in some things, or in all things? Do I live part of my life for Christ, or all of my life for Him?

Let's look at this verse in Matthew 3:

Mat 3:16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;

Mat 3:17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

Because our example is Jesus, and we are to be like Him, that means our aim in life should be to please God in all things. That means in our relationships at home, with our neighbors, with strangers, our aim in life should be to please Him at all times. What I envisioned in my mind this morning was a runner, with one goal in mind - to win the race. These verses from Hebrews 12 came to my mind:

Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Heb 12:2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

What is our goal in life? What are we aiming for? Are we aiming to please Jesus? Is Jesus making a difference in our marriages, in our parenting? How about in the work place, or our neighborhoods? Here is a big one - is our walk with the Lord making a difference when we are driving, and someone pulls out in front of us?

What we profess with our mouths as Christians should be backed up by a life that shows we are His. Today let's make it our goal to be pleasing to Him.